Downtown Lodge
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- Category: Facilities
- Published on Wednesday, 24 August 2011 17:01
- Written by Jamie Montgomery
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Built in the 1960's, our Downtown Lodge contains our Lodge Room, Club Room, Parker Room, and administrative offices. Our Lodge has moved several times in Rock Hill since our first location downtown in 1915. After a move from a house on Caldwell Street in the 1940's, the Lodge bought the Reid home at the intersection of Reid and Main streets. Once our Lodge grew to over one thousand members in the 1950's, the present Lodge was built between 1960 and 1961. The Reid home was demolished for parking space. Afterwards, other homes were purchased on the land between Main and Black streets growing our property to its state today.
The following articles are from various newspapers in the area over the past 60 years.
Charlotte Observer, February 26, 1940:(Date was handwritten on article by a historian unknown at this time, stored in the York County Library Local History section)
ROCK HILL, S. C. May, 25. - The spring of 1940 will go down in history of Elkdom in Rock Hill, as one of the most importaint periods in the 25 year history of the club.
There are several reasons for this statement, most significant of which is the fact that after a quarter of a century of wandering, the Elks have come home, this time to their own home in every sense of the word.
The beautiful and imposing former J. Ed Reid home on Rock Hill's shaded East Main street has a new name now. It is the Rock Hill Elks' home. The lodge acquired the $15,000 home and "moved in."
A two story structure, the new Elks' home has 12 rooms. Opening from either side of a wide first floor hall are lounge rooms. These connect with a dining room, a kitchen, and a recreation room, and the secretary's office. Upstairs is a lodge room where meetings are held. There is also a billiard room and two additional recreation rooms in this floor. The upstairs hall opens to a large second story veranda.
In addition to these two floors there is a basement story. Here are showers and locker rooms and space has been set aside in this story for a gymnasium which is to be completed in the near future.
The official opening of the Elks' new home for inspection by the public in the form of a reception was one of the highlights of Rock Hill's social season. Several hundred people attended the "open house" function. R. P. Shultz, Exalted Ruler, and Mrs. Schultz with Secretary James E. Parker, and Mrs. Parker headed the receiving line which included such dignitaries in Elkdom as District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler Dr. W. G. Sharpe of Greenville, S. C. who was the guest of honor. Other officers and members of the local lodge were on hand in every room to receive the guests and to show them about the spacious Elks' home.
The Elks long have played an important part in the life of Rock Hill because fo their generosity in an ever increasing program of charity and benevolences. With their new home, they have met another need in the community by throwing the building open for use by women's clubs and organizations as a meeting place. Card tournaments and other functions are held regularly in the club.
Coming on the heels of the opening of their new home was the Elks' 25 birthday party, a brilliant ladies' night dinner and dance affair with John S. McClelland of Atlanta, prominently mentioned as a future grand exalted ruler, as speaker, and with J. Clayton Burke, secretary of the Atlanta club and former head of the Elks association in Georgia as special guest along with officers and representatives from other lodges of the section.
Another community service, unique so far as this part of the country is concerned, has been offered by the Rock Hill Elks through the establishment of a potential blood bank. The almost 200 members have had their blood typed and stand ready on a moment's call to give blood transfusions whenever needed. The list of potential blood donors has been placed at the disposal of local physicians and hospitals.
Here are the present officers of the Elks lodge: R. P. Schultz, exalted ruler; E. H. Carroll, esteemed leading knight; J. T. Neely, Jr., esteemed loyal knight; E. R. Swaim, esteemed lecturing knight; James E. Parker, Jr., secretary; Roger Brooks, treasurer; H. P. Garrison, tiler, and L. D. Boyd, V. L. Rice, and John R. London, trustees.
The lodge was founded March 19, 1915, with Sidney J. Poag, now deceased, as the first exalted ruler. Every past exalted ruler now living is a regular member of the lodge, believed by members to be a record equaled by by few, if any other lodges.
Evening Herald, Centennial Edition, May 3rd, 1952
"R. H. Elks Lodge Is Second Largest In S. C.; Started With 39 Members"
Thirty seven years ago when Rock Hill Lodge 1318 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was formed, its charter members had little idea that today the lodge would be second largest in South Carolina with 852 members.
The growth of the lodge has not been marked only by an increase in the number of members. There has been a big increase in community service until now the yearly contribution to charity amounts to more then $10,000, and the Lodge is ever alert to an opportunity to serve the needs of the community.
Among projects now included in the program of the organization are: The ownership of 72 wheelchairs which are available without charges to residents of York, Lancaster or Chester Counties; The establishment of a four-year college scholarship with $2,000 for a boy and the establishment of a scholarship to Winthrop College for a girl; Assistance in a major way for the Orthopedic School for crippled children which is located in Rock Hill; Supplying school lunches for needy children; A Christmas program which each year provides for the distributions of hundreds of dollars worth of food, fuel, etc., to needy families; A program designed to promote better citizenship among students of high school age. Prizes are awarded to the best citizens and a large group from among the outstanding students are guests of the lodge at a banquet; Providing for a group of boys to be entertained for a week at the Police Worthy Boys Camp near Rock Hill.
The Rock Hill Elks Lodge No. 1318 was formed March 19, 1915, following the dissolution of the old Palmetto Club. The first Exalted Ruler was the late S. J. Poag. The first meeting place was the second floor of a building on East Main Street which also housed Patterson’s 10 and 25 cents store. Others among the first officers to serve the Lodge were: T. W. Huey – Leading Knight, B. W. Craig – Loyal Knight, George Jenkins – Lecturing Knight, I. B. Cauthen – Secretary, James P. Poag – Treasurer, F. E. Cross – Tiler, and J. L. Phillips, Julian Johnson, and Harry Ruff as Trustees.
The Elks later moved to the third floor of the Rock Hill Hardware Building, and then to the quarters over the old Periwinkle Tea Room. At the time, there was a walkway over Elks avenue to the old Masonic Hall and both halls were used. In 1924 a fire in the Masonic Hall building caused the Elks to move into temporary quarters, but later they returned to the old Masonic Hall building.
The next move was to the second floor of the building which is now the offices of the Rock Hill Telephone Company on Elk Avenue. In April 1938, the Lodge moved to a building known at the time as Little Love Home on Caldwell Street. The building stood on the site that is now occupied by the Huey Building which houses several stores. In January, 1940, the Elks, tired of moving and with membership booming, bought the J. E. Reid Home on East Main Street. The mortgage on the property was burned in 1943.
In 1947, the Elks undertook an extensive expansion and remodeling program which cost $35,000. The new home had a dining room capable of accommodating 75 persons, a well-equipped kitchen, a meeting hall on the second floor, and a game room which occupied the basement floor. There was also a spacious parking lot adjoining the Home for the convenience of the members and their guests.
Through the years of moving and climbing upwards, there have been many loyal and active members who have worked especially hard to see the Lodge move forward.
Handwritten Note - Lodge Photo Album (1966)
In June of 1961, The Lodge moved into its new building on Main Street. The Reid Home was removed to make room for a parking lot. Several homes in the rear were purchased and the ground converted to a parking lot. This gave the Elks entrances on Black Street, Orange Street, and Main Street.
With Membership booming to 2,100 during 1966, the need for future expansion is already felt. The corner lot, occupied by Stephenson Finance Company, at Orange Street and Main Street has been purchased and will be used in future expansion.
